Star Trek:Odyssey 14:Thirty One
by rylansato
Summary: Captain Allensworth is presented with disturbing news from all sides and a certain faction not officially part of Starfleet does some investigating and questioning of the Alexandria's officers.
1. One Thing or Another

Star Trek: Odyssey: Thirty One

Jermaine Allensworth was not fond of medical examinations. He wasn't sure why; it was merely one of those things that didn't resonate with him. Perhaps the reasons were based upon the fact that these were situations in which he had little control. His fate was in the hands of one of the Alexandria's medical practitioners, and in this instance, that experience was culminated in the form of Amanda Plumley.

"Nothing is wrong." She said as she waved the tricorder in front of Jermaine's chest.

"Of course nothing is wrong." He said pleasantly.

"I've been doing this to the crew who had come back from the Ba'ku planet. I'm just making sure that nothing is wrong. With you, something seems different. I can't shake this feeling I have. I'll run a few more tests and see if there is really anything wrong."

"I'm not too worried about it."

"You could have a huge hole in your head, and you still wouldn't be worried." She said. "Hell, you probably wouldn't even come to sickbay."

"And miss out on your wonderful bedside manner?"

Plumley sighed. "You'd be dead without me."

"No. I'd just have one less thorn in my side." He chuckled as he slid off the biobed.

Shaking her head to the contrary, Plumley persisted. "Dead as a doornail."

"Strange, I don't see too many nails on these doors." Allensworth said.

Slowly coming up along side him, Plumley matched his tone. "That's because I haven't killed too many patients."

Though the Doctor spoke in jest, Allensworth knew there was some truth to the statement. Doctor Plumley's record was impeccable when it came to the number of lives she saved. And reluctantly, he had to admit, if only to himself, that he was indeed among that group of saved patients.

Clasping his hands together, Allensworth expelled a long sigh and turned back to face Plumley. "So what are you going to do with me?"

"Observe you."

"I said it was nothing to worry about."

"Who's the doctor? It's my job to worry and I have a feeling that something is wrong that the tricorder is not picking up." The tone in her voice had been so utterly neutral that Allensworth found himself unable to tell if she had been kidding or not.

Suddenly, the intercom kicked on. It was Commander Merriell's voice.

"Captain Allensworth please report to the bridge."

"I'm on my way." Allensworth said into the air.

At that, Plumley turned on her heel and made her way to her next patient as Allensworth walked out the doors.

Allensworth emerged from the turbolift and walked to his chair. He saw that an Akira class starship was on the viewscreen. It was the Thunderchild.

"She's hailing us." Sato reported.

"On screen." Allensworth said.

A moment later, Captain Blaine Stork blinked onto the screen. Before Allensworth could say anything the skipper of the Thunderchild immediately spoke.

"Captain, I need to meet with you at once." Stork said sounding urgent.

"We'll beam you over." Jermaine said as he nodded his concern.

"No." He insisted. "You have to come to the Thunderchild. I can't explain over an open channel, but it's urgent."

"On my way."

"Make sure you come alone, Captain. Thunderchild out."

The communication severed on her end, effectively terminating the link between the two starships. Allensworth, however, was more than a little curious about what was going on. He turned to his temporary first officer, Alex Merriell.

"Alex, you have the bridge."

"Aye, sir." Merriell said sitting in the center seat as Allensworth walked into the turbolift.

Shortly later, he materialized on the transporter pad of the Thunderchild. Captain Stork was standing there waiting for him.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"It'd be easier if you see it for yourself." Stork said as he led Allensworth through the doors.

Allensworth frowned curiously as he walked with Captain Stork. He wondered what secret Stork had if he couldn't explain it and wouldn't dare speak of it on an open channel. The two entered a turbolift.

"Deck sixteen."

The lift started moving and Stork left Allensworth to his thoughts. Clearly he had no desire to chat as Allensworth preferred to do. That only prompted more concern in his mind. This had to be something of consequence and confidentially.

The lift stopped and Allensworth followed Stork through the vacant corridors of deck sixteen. He led the captain into a room that Allensworth didn't expect to enter; the brig.

Inside the room were two security guards, both armed with phaser rifles. One stood by the force field, while the other stood a bit further away. Allensworth slowly peered his head toward the holding cell to see who was inside and his heart skipped a beat.

"Admiral Dowler?" Allensworth turned to Captain Stork. "What is the Admiral doing in the brig?"

Stork pulled out a tricorder, pressed a few buttons on it and then held it in front of Allensworth.

"Look at the quantum signature. It matches the ones given out by people from the Mirror Universe."

"How did you find her?"

"Our sensors picked up a singularity opening up a few light years from our position. When we went to investigate, an imperial starship opened fire on us. We disabled them and according to our scans, they had this Admiral Dowler on board. My guess is that they were going to try and get close to Earth and replace our Admiral Dowler."

Allensworth nodded in agreement. Stork motioned him to follow him out of the room. The two captains walked out and down the corridor.

"We plan on keeping her here and see if we can get any info out of her."

"I wonder how many have actually infiltrated Starfleet and have actually replaced their counterparts?" Allensworth said.

"It's possible that a good number have been replaced or not even as many as we think. But this is war so it's hard to tell." Stork said.

Suddenly, Allensworth's communicator chirped.

"Plumley to Allensworth."

Allensworth was a bit surprised by the doctor's calling. He didn't have any idea why she was contacting him but there was only one way to find out. He tapped his communicator.

"Yes, Doctor."

"I need to see you in sickbay right now. It's important."

Jermaine's heart was in his mouth. "What's the emergency?"

There was brief, eerily silence that made Allensworth wish he hadn't asked the question. And when Plumley answered, he was certain of it.

"You."

At first, the medical data on Captain Allensworth only seemed to confirm the medical tricorder's readings, that nothing was wrong. Plumley remained unconvinced. So she dug around some more, and some more, until she finally ran a comparative analysis on his DNA before the captain when the Ba'ku planet and after he came back.

The results rendered her speechless and as she looked up at Allensworth from across her desk, Amanda Plumley did her best to explain what was going on.

"Your DNA is in a state of molecular decay." She said delicately. "And I'm afraid it's terminal."


	2. Unexpected Things

Commander Sparhawk lied in his bed at Starbase 235. He looked down at his leg and where his other leg used to be. He thought back to the day he lost it, back on the Ba'ku planet. He knew he was going to get through this but he also knew it was going to take work. Then the door opened and in strolled a short Admiral by the name of Kreimer. Another young admiral. She had long brown hair and a slender body figure to her tiny frame. Admiral Kreimer was in charge of this starbase and made regular visits with the patients here. Starbase 235 wasn't a medical starbase but it did house a lot of injured officers.

"How are you feeling, Commander?"

"Not bad, sir with all things considering."

"Well, I brought someone here that will brighten your day." She said as she stepped aside.

A woman no older than Commander Sparhawk appeared in the doorway. She had dark hair that was parted in the middle and went down just past her shoulders. She wore the command red turtleneck underneath her grey shouldered black uniform and also sported Commander Pips on her collar. It was the first officer of the Challenger, Commander April Prideau.

She rushed over to his side and hugged him tightly and then covered him in kisses. The admiral snuck out of the room to give the couple their privacy.

"How did you get here?" Jason asked.

"The Challenger was in this sector and Captain McAuliffe allowed me to see you."

"How long are you here for?"

"As long as I'm needed here."

Jason smiled. It would be the first time in awhile that he got to spend some quality time with April. She pulled a chair over and leaned on him. Jason rubbed the top of her head with his other hand in repeated soft and slow strokes.

Michelle Stull walked into her quarters, just coming off duty. She unzipped her jacket and walked over to the replicator.

"Hot chocolate with mint." She said.

The device produced a bright light as her drink of choice materialized. She grabbed the drink from the alcove. She took a sip from her glass and then set it on the table. The drink was rather soothing and had a very relaxing effect on her. She then reached over into a small plastic container and pulled out a Tribble. The tiny furball purred as she pet it.

Normally, it would be a bit of a hazard and a lot of trouble to have a Tribble on a Starship or anywhere for that matter because all they do is eat and reproduce. However, this particular one was fixed so it couldn't reproduce. She recalled a story that Commander Zofchak told her after he found out that she had a Tribble on board. He told her about when Commander Worf told him about how the Tribbles were mortal enemies to the empire and how hundreds of warriors went to the Tribble home world and eradicated them. He then proceeded to tell her how the population was rejuvenated because Captain Sisko and his crew went back in time to when Kirk visited Deep Space station K-7. A Tribble must've gotten aboard the Defiant and came back to the present because Deep Space Nine was up to their necks in Tribbles.

Suddenly, the activation of her computer terminal at her desk interrupted her thoughts. Stull recognized it as being the indicator of an incoming transmission. She set her Tribble down, grabbed her drink and walked over to the terminal. She touched the screen.

"Authorization, Stull-three-seven-gamma-echo."

The composed image of Tyrilla Norta, head of the Symbosis Commission, appeared on the screen. Her brown hair was pulled back into a bun, showing her spots and high forehead. Michelle instantly knew why she was being contacted by them. A short time before she graduated from Starfleet Academy, she expressed an interest in being joined. She specifically asked for the Trinn symbiont.

"Torkien is expected to die within the next few days. We would like you to come to Trill and accept the Trinn Symbiont."

"I'll request leave and take a shuttle there. The Alexandria is currently in the Tesnia system. It'll take me a few days to get there."

"Understood. I look forward to your arrival."

At that the screen went blank and Michelle leaned back in her chair. She didn't know what to think. She had been waiting for this moment all of her life. The one thing that did worry her was her newly formed relationship to Commander Merriell. She wasn't going to break it off just yet but she did want to inform him that if the symbiont did not wish to be a part of their relationship then she would have to break it off. Symbionts usually viewed romantic involvements to be a nuisance and they want to live on a higher plane of existence. But, it was not unheard of for a joined Trill to have a romantic relationship. Both Jadzia Dax was married to Commander Worf and later Ezri Dax had a relationship was Julian Bashir. Before she did anything else she had to talk to the captain. She zipped up her jacket and left her quarters.

Captain Allensworth sat in his ready room. He wasn't doing anything in particular. He just sat there staring at his desk. His mind was still processing the information that Doctor Plumley told him a short time ago. He wanted to tell his senior officers but he didn't want to worry them especially during the war. They needed to keep their minds at the task at hand instead of him. At that moment, his door chimed.

"Come in."

The doors parted revealing Lieutenant Stull. She entered and approached the captain.

"What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"

"Sir, I just got a transmission from the Symbiosis Commission, telling me that the Trinn symbiont will be available within a few days. I want to request a temporary leave of absence to go to Trill and be joined."

"The Trinn Symbiont. I knew a Trinn during my days at the academy. He was an instructor there. He died about ten years ago."

"That was Korlain Trinn. The current host is Torkien Trinn. I'm not sure on the details but he is expected to die in a few days and I've been chosen as the next host."

"I guess a congratulations is in order. Request granted."

A smile appeared on Michelle's face. "Thank you, sir."

"Although, I'm aware of the issues of relationships that symbionts have so you may want to Alex. I'm sure he'll be understanding if things don't work out because of the symbiont." Allensworth said.

"I was going to talk to him after I was done talking to you, sir."

"Carry on, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir." At that, she turned and left.

Hoshi Sato walked down the corridors to her quarters. Actually, they were Dustin's quarters but she had moved into his quarters after he proposed to her. Instead of wearing the standard duty uniform, she had to wear a maternity version of it now. She was only at four months but she looked like she was like six months because of the twins.

She was just about to turn the corner that lead to the corridor where her quarters were when she suddenly felt nauseated. She leaned on the wall for support hoping the feeling would go away soon. At first she thought it was pregnancy related until she realized she wasn't standing in the corridor any more.

She looked around and noticed that she obviously wasn't on the bridge of the Alexandria but on the bridge of another Federation starship. A blonde haired woman was seated in the captain's chair. She wore a uniform that wasn't worn today. It had black shoulders and pants and the arms and torso signified the division. Hers was obviously the command red. This was obviously the past but when. It wasn't too far in the past, she concluded, because she remembered that Dustin had a uniform just like hers only his was the engineering gold.

"Captain." A voice from Ops said.

"What is it, Lieutenant?"

"Sir, the Enterprise is transmitting the warp signature of the Maquis ship that has Commander Riker and Lieutenant Ro aboard."

The captain nodded. Hoshi looked around thinking that she was experiencing the same thing as when they entered the Shinjitsu nebula. The captain turned and looked at her.

"Troubles, Counselor?"

Hoshi's eyes widened. This was very different from that time. This time they could talk to her but she was called counselor. She had to think fast.

"No, sir. I'm just hoping that everything goes well."

"We all do, Counselor."

Hoshi looked down at her uniform but she saw no change. She was still wearing her normal uniform and was still pregnant.

_What is going on here?_

Another set of beeping filled the bridge.

"Sir, the ship piloted by Commander Riker and Lieutenant Ro is firing a low intensity particle beam into the nebula."

"What the hell is going on?" The captain said standing up and walking towards the screen.

"The polarizing effect being created by the beam may make it possible for us to be detected."

"Is there anyway to counteract the effect?"

"I'll try to do so, sir."

"Sir," Another voice said from the tactical station. "The ship being piloted by Commander Riker and Lieutenant Ro is heading towards the Enterprise."

Hoshi fell to her knees. She was back in the corridor on the Alexandria. A crewmember ran to her side. She heard him call for sickbay before she passed out.

A short time later, Michelle and Alex stood in the shuttle bay next to the shuttlecraft Berman.

After hugging her, he pulled away and looked into her eyes. "Nervous?"

She slightly nodded. "Don't be. Whatever happens, we'll still be friends. I hope we can remain more but if the Trinn symbiont doesn't like the idea, I'll understand."

Stull was so relieved that he was so understanding about the joining. The two closed the gap between them and kissed each other. After breaking the kiss, she stepped into the shuttle.

"The next time I see you, you'll be Michelle Trinn instead of Michelle Stull."

She smiled as she pressed the controls to close the hatch. Merriell stepped up into the control room and pressed the controls to open the cargo bay doors. The shuttle lifted off and exited the shuttle bay. It took off the port side and once clear it leapt into warp.

Only seconds later a Trident class starship dropped out of warp next to the Alexandria. It was the USS Ward.

Allensworth sat in his ready room when the intercom kicked on.

"Captain, the USS Ward has arrived." Kell Perim said. Allensworth looked up in confusion.

"The Ward? We weren't expecting the Ward."

"They're hailing us, sir."

"Put it in through here, Lieutenant."

Allensworth swiveled his LCARS screen around and activated it. A man in his late forties appeared on the screen. He wore the standard command red turtleneck under his uniform but along with his four pips was a bar placed underneath the pips. He was a Fleet Captain.

"Captain Allensworth, I am Fleet Captain McElfreshof Internal Affairs. We are putting your ship under investigation. We have reason to believe that there is a traitor among your crew."


	3. Questioning

Commander Zofchak came rushing into sickbay. He was practically running. Dr. Plumley came walking out of her office. She didn't have to ask to know why he was there.

"She's over here, Commander. She regained consciousness a few moments ago."

The chief engineer walked over to the contact specialist. He put one hand on her left hand and then his other on her forehead. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Hey." She said.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Better now."

"What happened?" Dustin asked.

"I was headed back to our quarters and then I got a bit nauseated. Then it was like I was somewhere else."

"Do you know where?" He asked.

Hoshi shook her head. "No, I just know I was somewhere in the past. I was called Counselor on a ship that was watching a group of ships."

"That really doesn't give me much."

"They wore uniforms similar to your old one. The one with the yellow torso."

"That was the uniform I wore when I was on the Enterprise-D."

"Yes, they mentioned one of the ships was piloted by Commander Riker and Lieutenant Ro."

Dustin thought for a moment. "That was when we were trying to stop the Maquis from attacking the Cardassians."

"At first I thought it had something to do with the pregnancy but then I realized it wasn't when I saw myself on the other ship."

Dustin looked up to Dr. Plumley. "What do you think, Doc?"

She let out a small sigh. "I don't know. Nausea is a part of pregnancy symptoms but not hallucinations. Other than the hallucination she's fine. There's nothing wrong with her and the twins are coming along just fine."

Dustin looked back at Hoshi. She could tell he was a bit worried about her.

"I'll be okay. Just as the doctor said." Hoshi said with a reassuring smile.

Dustin leaned up and kissed her on her forehead. "I gotta get back to work. I wanted to stop in and see how you were doing."

She smiled and returned the kiss before he left sickbay.

Shortly later, Zofchak walked out onto the bridge. His first observation was two guards standing at either side of the doors that led to the captain's ready room. He also noticed a slight tension in the air. He walked over and sat down at Navigation next to Kell Perim who was stationed at Ops. Zofchak hadn't been at Navigation since his days on the Enterprise. On occasion he would sit down at Navigation during the late shift. With the absence of Lieutenant Stull and with Merriell's promotion to first officer, Zofchak figured it would okay to handle the helm for a bit until he was needed in Engineering.

He turned around in his chair to Commander Merriell who was sitting in the center chair. "What is going on?"

"Internal Affairs is on board."

"IA? What do they want?"

"I'm not sure yet, but they're talking with the captain."

At that moment, Captain Allensworth and Fleet Captain McElfresh emerged from the ready room.

"Attention, we're going to do a series of investigations with each member of the crew. I'm going to start with Commander Merriell." McElfresh said.

Captain Allensworth walked up to Merriell and put his hand on his shoulder. Merriell nodded and stepped away from the command chair and towards the turbolift. Zofchak swiveled in his chair and watched in confusion as his friend led the Fleet Captain to the turbolift. He along with McElfresh and his two guards rode to the deck that housed the Commander's quarters.

A beeping came from Ops and Kell straightened her posture as she entered the commands into her console to figure out why the panel demanded her attention.

"Sir, we just got a message from Starfleet. The Third, Fourth and Fifth fleets entered the Mirror Universe and took over the Chin'toka system."

Dustin slightly smirked and Perim looked at him. "What's so funny?"

"During the Dominion War, our first and only foothold in Dominion territory. And our first foothold in Mirror territory just happens to be the Chin'toka system. They must've taken down the Cardassians in their universe."

Shortly later, the two entered the commander's quarters. As they entered McElfresh took a look around.

"You keep a clean set of quarters." McElfresh said.

"Thank you, sir." Merriell said as he sat down behind his desk. He offered another seat to the Fleet Captain. McElfresh sat down and got straight to business.

"So, you've been recently been promoted as First Officer of the Alexandria."

Alex nodded. "Yes, sir. Commander Sparhawk was wounded during the Ba'ku campaign. He is currently at Starbase two three five."

"I'm aware of Commander Sparhawk's status. So, Commander, tell me what you know about the Terran Empire."

Lieutenant Michelle Stull's shuttle landed on the Trill homeworld. She stepped out of the shuttle to be greeted by her parents. They welcomed her with open arms. Her father had retired from Starfleet after Danielle was killed by the Breen.

"How are you, Michi?" Her mother asked.

"I'm good. Things are okay for the most part but with the war and all it has been a bit difficult at times."

"Already a Lieutenant. That's good." Her father said.

Michelle nodded. "So what's the story on the Trinn symbiont?"

"Torkien hasn't much time left. We should begin the procedure as soon as possible. We'll take you to go see Torkien now if that's okay."

Michelle nodded as her and her family began walking away from the shuttle.

Zofchak sat in his quarters after coming off his shift. His door chimed.

"Come in."

The door opened and in came the Fleet Captain and his guards. Zofchak stood up.

"No need to stand, Commander. It would appear that you're next on our list."

_Obviously. _Dustin thought to himself.

The Fleet Captain sat down as Zofchak offered him a seat. He looked around the room, taking it all in.

"A lot of stuff for one person." He said.

"Actually, Commander Sato and I live together, sir."

McElfresh nodded. "Ah, I see. On stardate five seven four four five point seven, you were captured by Christine Nycz of the mirror universe. You were interrogated and tortured into giving them information about the transphasic torpedo. You ultimately gave them the information. Why?"

"Because they knew how to get information out of people, sir." Zofchak answered.

"That's not a good enough answer."

"They put me in an agony booth for a full day and then they put me in a room with a female Orion. Now the last time I checked, sir, was that no humanoid male can resist an Orion female especially after being in an agony booth for twenty-four hours."

Zofchak noticed the guards tense up a bit.

"According to your report, not only did you get intimate with an Orion but as well as the mirror Hoshi Sato. It would appear that you enjoyed your time over there."

"I was downloading information from their computers when Sato discovered me. However, she thought I was my counterpart. I couldn't risk revealing that I wasn't him so I went along with it. It's called being undercover, sir."

"There's no need to get hostile, Commander."

"It sounds to me that you are accusing me of something. Are you, sir?"

He didn't immediately respond. At that moment, the doors opened and in walked Hoshi Sato. She was a bit taken back by the guards' presence.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Just some routine questioning." McElfresh said. "However, we're done here."

The Fleet Captain got up and walked out of the room with the guards in tow. Dustin looked at his fiancé with a concerned look on his face.

Dustin walked down the corridors on his way to the holodeck to install a new program he got from Doctor Julian Bashir. It was a program about a singer named Vic Fontaine from the 1960's. He entered the grid like room and began to install the program. He opened a panel and entered a few commands.

He felt a bit nauseated and tried to shrug it off. Suddenly, he heard the red alert klaxon in the room. At first he thought the ship had gone to red alert but realized it hadn't. He looked around and saw that he was on the bridge of a Nebula class starship. He stood up thinking he had accidentally activated a program.

"Computer, end program."

Nothing happened. He looked around and noticed the uniforms. He wasn't too far in the past since they wore the same uniforms as he. He looked on the view screen and saw a transwarp conduit opening and a Borg Sphere emerged.

A beeping came from the console in front of him. It took him a moment to realize that he was supposed to answer the call. The captain looked back at him.

"Is something wrong, Mister Duran?"

"Duran?" Zofchak asked.

"Yes, that's your name." The captain said.

"Oh uh, no, sir. I just blanked for a moment." He said as he entered the commands into the console. "It's from Admiral Paris. He's ordering us to open fire."

"You heard the admiral. Fire." The captain said.

The ship opened fire as well as the rest of the ships. A few seconds later, the sphere exploded and an Intrepid class starship shot through the flames. It was Voyager.

Dustin then dropped to his knees and passed out.


	4. Joinings

Lieutenant Stull lied naked on a rock face. Next to her was Torkien, who was also naked. They were covered by a sheet that only exposed their stomachs. Tyrilla Norta stood there over seeing the procedure. Trill surgeons specifically trained for this procedure executed the operation. On one side, the surgeons opened Torkien and extracted the Trinn symbiont. Michelle raised her head slightly just as Torkien did. He could tell that she was slightly frightened and the old man smiled at her to reassure her. Helied his head back down and closed his eyes. The surgeons opened up Michelle's midsection and inserted the symbiont. At first, she felt pain and then once the symbiont had attached itself and became part of Michelle, she felt nothing but relaxation. The memories that the symbiont held within itself released them into Michelle's brain. It was as if Michelle herself had experienced almost three hundred years of memories. She was no longer Michelle Stull but now Michelle Trinn.

Zofchak awoke in sickbay to the smiling face of Hoshi Sato standing there with him.

"Funny seeing you here." Dustin said.

"What happened?" Plumley asked walking over.

"I think I had what Hoshi had. I was somewhere else. I was on a Nebula class ship during the time when Voyager made it back from the Delta Quadrant."

"What is this thing, sexually transmitted?" Plumley said with a grin.

Both Hoshi and Dustin looked at the chief medical officer, a bit taken back by the comment.

"Just a joke, Commanders."

"Well, you can knock out it having to do with being pregnant since I'm a male." Dustin said.

"Well, back when I served on the NX Enterprise, Commander Tucker had been accidentally impregnated by a Xyrillian female during one of our earlier voyages."

Hoshi saw the horrified look on Dustin's face and almost laughed.

"Don't worry; the fetus was transplanted into another Xyrillian before it was born."

Although Dustin knew that he wasn't pregnant, it was still of a bit of a shock to hear about a human male to be pregnant. At that moment, the doors opened and in came a set of nurses transporting an officer on an anti-gravity sled. It was Commander Merriell. Dr. Plumley ran over to him.

"What happened?"

"He collapsed in his quarters." Nurse Tabar said.

"Put him over here." Plumley said.

The nurses picked up Merriell and placed him on a biobed. Dustin sat up and looked over to his friend.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Suddenly, the intercom kicked on.

"Lieutenant Commander Sato, please report to the observation lounge."

"On my way." She looked back to Dustin. "I guess it's my turn to be questioned. I'll see you later." She leaned over and kissed him before she left.

Shortly later, she arrived in the observation lounge. McElfresh was sitting where the captain usually sat with a few PADDs in front of him. The guards stood positioned on either side of the door. They tensed up as she walked in.

"Commander, please have a seat."McElfresh said gesturing to the seat to his left.

She walked over and sat down.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"About as well as any mother who is four months pregnant with twins."

"Fair enough. Well, to get straight to business. You are in fact the Hoshi Sato who served with Captain Archer on the NX class Enterprise?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"How did you get to be a member of this crew?"

"There was a time when Earth was destroyed and what was left of humanity was fighting off the Xindi. We had taken heavy damage was the bridge was targeted. That's when the Alexandria showed up. There were only a few of us left and we didn't want to keep running for the rest of our lives so we were allowed to stay with the crew."

McElfresh nodded.

"You are aware that the Hoshi Sato of our universe died on Tarsus Four?"

"Yeah, I know that. Commander Zofchak is also the ship's historian. I wanted to know anyway."

"One thing that I don't understand is that, when Commander Zofchak went to the Mirror Universe, he encountered your counterpart but according to the records from the Mirror Universe, their original Hoshi Sato was Empress. How could they also have a Hoshi Sato from another timeline?"

"That's just it. We're not only universe with alternate timelines. They too have alternate timelines and since they are the mirror versions of us, they generally do the same things as we do. When this Alexandria went into my timeline and brought me with them, they did the same thing. Only things were just a tad different."

Hoshi knew where McElfresh was headed with this. Dustin had told her what they had asked him. They were looking for a traitor among the crew and she guessed that they were pointing the finger at her and Dustin. Her voice became more authoritative.

"These events happened last year and you are just now getting to it? Obviously there isn't much for IA to do these days. One little thing you don't understand and you assume it has something to do with treason? This interview is over."

At that she got up and walked out of the room. McElfresh just looked at her walk away and then leaned in his chair with a slight grin.

Captain Allensworth sat in his ready room. Lieutenant McKenzie was watching the bridge while Commander Merriell was in sickbay. He wondered what was going on with his crew. First Hoshi, then Dustin and now Alex. He wondered if it was some sort of space sickness that has infected the crew. He pondered on the thought but quickly dismissed it after realizing that each story had been in the past during some event. Hoshi experienced the time when the Federation was moving against the Maquis. Dustin witnessed Voyager's return home from seven years in the Delta Quadrant and Alex hadn't awoken yet so Allensworth didn't know what the commander saw.

He looked down at the PADD and entered a few commands. He rubbed his head after feeling a bit dizzy.

"So what did you think of her?" A voice asked.

Allensworth looked up and saw a young human male in an old cadet's uniform. Allensworth looked around and saw that he was on an outside patio of a bar in San Francisco. Needless to say he was a bit confused.

"Well, Z, what did you think of her?"

"Of who?"

"Who do you think? Don't tell me that she wasn't all that great and you forgot about her the next day? You two seemed to be pretty into each other last night. Hell, she even went home with you."

"Ah, yes. She was good company."

"That's all you have to say? Good company?"

At that moment, the door chimed bringing Allensworth back. His vision was blurred and he was a bit dizzy.

"Come." He said.

The doors opened allowing Commander Sato to enter. She took one step into the ready room as Allensworth's head dropped. She ran to his side. She hit her comm. badge with her hand.

"Medical emergency to the captain's ready room."

Lieutenant Michelle Trinn stood with her family outside of her shuttle. She was leaving and headed back to the Alexandria.

"Leaving already?" Her father asked.

"I have to. You know that." She replied.

He nodded before planting a kiss on his daughter's forehead. She moved on to her mother who had a prideful smile on her face. The two embraced each other tightly.

"Please keep in touch more often."

"I'll try but…" Michelle said.

"I know I know, with the war and all."

They broke off from each other and Trinn stepped into the shuttle. She turned back and waved to them as the shuttle doors began closing. She sat down in the cockpit and began the liftoff sequence. She saw her parents standing on the launch pad and she waved to them once again before lifting off.

The type 11 shuttle lifted off the ground and headed into the atmosphere and then into space.

Jason Sparhawk stood there leaning against wall. His new prosthetic leg had been attached and he was trying to walk with it. April Prideau was also there to help him. He pushed off the wall and with his girlfriend's help, he began walking. He got three quarters across the room before he stopped moving and dropped to the ground because of the pain.

"Damn it." He said frustrated. "I was almost there." He threw the cane across the room. April held him close.

"You can do it. I have faith in you."

"April."

"Yes."

"Let's get married."

April pulled away and looked Jason straight in the eye. "Are you serious?"

Jason nodded. April smiled and then hugged Jason tightly. "Of course I will."


	5. More Questions

Captain Allensworth awoke in sickbay like everyone else who had come down with whatever it was. He sat up as Amanda Plumley came over to him.

"How are you feeling, Captain?" She asked.

"Other than my head feeling like a Klingon river danced on my head, I'm fine."

"Let me guess, you had a vision like the other three did?"

Allensworth nodded. "I think we need to compare notes." He tapped his comm. badge. "Senior officers, report to the observation lounge."

Shortly later, the senior officers sat in the usual chairs in the observation lounge.

"Okay, some of us have had these visions about being someplace that we've never been before and being someone that obviously wasn't us." He turned to Hoshi who was sitting next to Dustin and they both were on his left. "Hoshi, you said you experienced a time where you were on the bridge of a starship during our movement against the Maquis."

"Yes, sir. I was wearing an old uniform and was called Counselor. That's all I remember about it."

Allensworth turned to Zofchak. "You were part of that incident."

Zofchak nodded. "I was in Engineering though. One of our crewmembers betrayed us and left to join the Maquis. There were multiple starships hiding in the nebula."

"Do you remember who the captain was or what the bridge looked like?" Allensworth asked.

"If I remember correctly the captain was a blonde woman and it the bridge looked like an Excelsior class."

"The only Excelsior class ship that was in the group was the USS Cairo." Dustin said.

"Okay so that's a clue." Allensworth said. "Dustin, you witnessed Voyager's return."

The chief engineer nodded. "I was on a Nebula Class ship on the bridge at the tactical station. I already researched which ship I was on and it turned out to be the USS Bonchune."

"Okay, the Cairo and the Bonchune. Two ships in different times and in different areas of the galaxy. What about you Alex?"

"I was in a room with a group of people and I guess they all were on the previously served on the same ship before because they all seemed distraught when they looked at the new KIA/MIA list. The Cairo was the new addition to the list."

"Leslie Wong was the captain of the Cairo." Allensworth said.

"Did she have blonde hair, Captain?" Sato asked.

"Yeah she did. She was also an instructor at the academy before she got the Cairo." Allensworth said. "My experience was on Earth at a bar in San Francisco. I was talking with somebody who called me 'Z' and asked about something I did the night before."

The moment the Captain said "Z" Zofchak kinda sat back in his chair and slightly blushed. The captain noticed Zofchak's reddened face.

"What is it, Commander?"

"Z was my nickname at the academy. You were in my position the night after Counselor Nycz and I began seeing each other. The next day I was with my roommate at the very bar Christine and I had met. She was actually walking in at that very moment…" Zofchak paused. "Computer, display service record for Counselor Christine Nycz."

The display behind the captain popped on and showed an updated picture of the counselor and her service record. Zofchak got up and went to the screen.

"Counselor Nycz was stationed on the Cairo after graduating from the academy. She transferred to the Bonchune in 2373." He switched the screen off. "The Cairo was destroyed along the Romulan Neutral Zone by Dominion forces. The Bonchune was one of the ships that were present when Voyager returned home. My guess is that Commander Merriell was portraying someone in the room when Counselor Nycz found out about the destruction of the Cairo. Counselor Nycz is the common denominator in these visions. She has been present at each of these instances." He said as he returned to his seat.

"Well, I would ask the Counselor but she's currently being questioned by our friendly neighborhood Internal Affairs representative." Allensworth said with a non-appreciative tone sounding almost like Sisko's low deep tone.

"I'm not too fond of IA being here." Sato said. "They pretty much pointing the finger at me and Dustin for being traitors."

"We can't let them distract us from the current problem at hand." Allensworth said. "We'll deal with them after we figure this out."

"Why haven't the rest of us have these daydreams or visions?" McKenzie asked.

"I'm not sure." Allensworth said. "I think it's just a matter of time before more people begin having them. One thing is for certain we need to find the source."

"The question is why are we having these visions?" Merriell asked.

"Only one way to find out." He tapped his communicator. "Allensworth to Nycz. Report to the observation lounge as soon as you're finished with Internal Affairs."

"Acknowledged." She said.

Minutes later, Counselor Nycz walked in and sat down.

"Counselor, some of us have been having visions of your past. We'd like to know why." Allensworth said.

The counselor looked confused. "I would too, Captain."

"You can't tell us anything about why we're having these visions?" Allensworth asked.

Nycz shook her head. "No. I can't, sir. I don't know. It is definitely a mystery, sir."

Alex Merriell looked at her felt that something was off but he couldn't place it. There was something in her tone that made him wonder. He leaned back in his chair and underneath the table he silently pulled his tricorder from his belt and opened it. He hit a few commands into the touch screen panel. He casually looked down and the readouts confirmed his suspicion. He then leapt from his seat with his phaser drawn, aimed at Counselor Nycz and fired.

Lieutenant Trinn approached the Alexandria from the port side of the ship. The Ward was still along side the Alexandria. She wondered why there was another starship with her ship but she figured she'd find out once she got aboard. She entered the commands to hail the ship.

"Shuttlecraft Burton to Alexandria, request permission to land in main shuttle bay." Trinn said.

"Shuttlecraft Burton, you are cleared to land in the main shuttle bay." The voice said.

Michelle recognized it as Kell Perim's voice. Lieutenant Trinn piloted the shuttle into the shuttlebay with relative ease. She usually piloted the Sovereign class ship so piloting a type 11 shuttlecraft was cake to her.

After placing her things in her room she went to the bridge. The turbolift stopped and the doors opened allowing the newly joined Trill to walk onto the bridge. She didn't see any of the senior staff. Kell Perim sat in the center seat. She turned around to face the Lieutenant.

"Everyone is in the observation lounge."

Trinn nodded and then proceeded to the lounge.

She walked in just as Merriell fired his phaser striking Nycz square in the chest and flooring her with the beam.

She stopped dead in her tracks and looked around. Everyone got up from their seats. Plumley ran to Nycz's side while Merriell showed Captain Allensworth his tricorder readings.

Allensworth's eyes widened as he looked at the tricorder. His gaze then went to person on the floor.

"Just like Admiral Dowler." He said silently to himself.


	6. The Real Traitor

Christine Nycz woke up on bunk that stuck out of the wall. She sat up and realized she was in the brig. She walked towards the forcefield and looked around to assess her situation. A few moments later, Captain Allensworth walked in the room.

"So, it would appear that we figured out who our traitor is?" He said.

"Obviously." Nycz said.

"How long have you been aboard?" Allensworth asked.

She didn't answer. Allensworth nodded, realizing that she wasn't going to answer. He turned to the officer at the controls.

"Okay." He said calmly. He slightly turned around. "Lieutenant, lower the forcefield."

Without saying a word, the Lieutenant did as he was told and the forcefield lowered. Allensworth drew his phaser and kept it trained on the mirror version of the counselor. He walked up and grabbed her by the arm and pulled her with him out of the brig and into the corridor. They walked down the corridor, passing multiple crewmembers who gave confused looks as they passed.

The captain pulled Nycz with him until they reached a door. The door had a window to it and the space beyond the door was small. He opened the door and shoved her into the small room. He closed the door behind her.

"You know where you are. How about you tell me what I want to know." Allensworth said.

Nycz remained silent.

"Fine." He said as he pressed a button on the console next to the door and the air in the room began to leave. She dropped to the ground gasping for air.

"Tell me what I want to know." Allensworth demanded.

Commander Merriell and Lieutenant McKenzie approached. They weren't exactly all for what their captain was doing.

"Captain? Are you all right?" Merriell asked.

"I will be in a few seconds."

"What happens in a few seconds, sir?" McKenzie asked.

"She runs out of air." He said.

Nycz continued to grasp for air and claw at the door. Allensworth got closer to the door.

"Are you going to tell me what I want to know?"

Nycz didn't respond immediately. Jermaine continued to wait patiently.

"Sir, she'll die and we won't know where to find our Counselor Nycz." Merriell said.

"Are you going to tell me?" Allensworth said once again.

Finally, Nycz nodded frantically. Allensworth opened the door and Nycz fell out onto the floor sucking in all the air she could. Allensworth began to walk away.

"Take her back to the brig." He said before continuing.

"Aye, sir." Merriell and McKenzie said in unison and looking at each other.

Allensworth sat in his ready room, when the door chimed.

"Come." He said.

The doors opened revealing Fleet Captain McElfresh.

"I understand that you found the traitor that we were looking for." He said walking in.

"Yeah, but unfortunately for you, it wasn't who you thought it was."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't. Actually, I was just looking in Starfleet records and there is no McElfresh that holds the rank of Fleet Captain. In fact, there is no person with that name in Starfleet. Who are you really?"

"Let's just say I work for a section of Starfleet that seeks out and identifies potential dangers to the Federation."

At that moment Allensworth realized what McElfresh was talking about.

"You seem to have heard of us." McElfresh said.

"I've heard rumors but nothing concrete. It was an unofficial branch of Starfleet that answers to no one and was part of the original Starfleet charter. Section Thirty-one, was it?"

McElfresh grinned. "You're quite well versed, Captain. I tip my hat to you. But since there is no further business for us here, I'll take my leave. Don't expect not to hear from us again, Captain." He tapped his comm. badge. "McElfresh to Ward, one to beam over."

Allensworth wanted to contain McElfresh but he figured that he'd avoid it and get out of it some how, so he let him be. McElfresh was engulfed in the transporter beam, leaving Allensworth alone in his ready room. He sat there thinking for a second before getting up from his chair. He straightened his tunic before walking out of his ready room. His destination was the brig.

Captain Allensworth walked into the brig where Commander Merriell and Lieutenant McKenzie were keeping an eye on Christine Nycz. The captain walked up to the forcefield.

"So now that you've regained your breath, how about you tell me where my counselor is located."

Nycz walked up and faced the captain. "I came aboard your ship a few days after you returned from the Ba'ku planet. We located her beamed her away and then I took her place."

"You've been here for a month?" Merriell asked.

Nycz nodded.

"Where is our Counselor Nycz?" Allensworth asked.

"She's being held on in my universe at coordinates six four two mark zero two nine."

"That's the Ceti Alpha system." Allensworth said.

"Ceti Alpha Five."

"Ceti Alpha Five?" Merriell asked. "Did Ceti Alpha Six explode like ours did leaving Ceti Alpha Five a desert waste land?"

Nycz nodded. "There's an Imperial base there that has minimal security there."

Allensworth looked at Merriell and McKenzie, all three of them knowing what they had to do. Allensworth began to walk towards the door with Merriell and McKenzie in tow. As they walked into the corridor the captain tapped his comm. badge.

"Allensworth to Trinn."

"Go ahead, Captain."

"Lieutenant, set a course for the Ceti Alpha system and engage at maximum warp."

"Aye, sir." Trinn replied.

The Alexandria leapt into warp heading for the Ceti Alpha system.

Hours later, the Sovereign class starship was approaching the system.

"We're approaching the Ceti Alpha system, sir." Trinn reported.

"Slow to impulse." Allensworth said.

"Sir, two other ships are entering the system." Perim reported. "It's the Rhode Island and Voyager."

"Right on time." Allensworth said.

"Sir, the two ships are hailing us." Hoshi said.

"On screen."

The screen switched on to show a split screen of Captain Chakotay and Captain Gage

"Captains, I would like you both to create an interspatial anomaly with your main deflectors. The Alexandria is going to go through it and rescue one of its officers. Once we're back we'll signal you with a high pulse ion beam."

"Captain, I may disagree with your plan but I can't tell you do otherwise because I would be doing the same thing. Chakotay out."

"Good luck, Captain." Gage said as she clicked off her end of the transmission.

The Intrepid class and Nova class starships created the interspatial anomaly and the Sovereign class flew right into it.

The Alexandria emerged on the other side, practically in the same spot where it left its own universe.

"We've arrived in…the other Ceti Alpha system." Trinn reported.

"Put us in orbit over Ceti Alpha Five." Allensworth said. "Lieutenant McKenzie, Lieutenant Perim, accompany me to the transporter room."

Allensworth began walking towards the turbolift.

"Captain, need I remind you…" Merriell began.

"I understand your concern, Commander, and your objection is noted. I feel that I'm the only one that can lead this mission." He and the two Lieutenants stepped into the turbolift. "You have the bridge, Commander."

On the surface, three columns of light appeared and then vanished leaving the three crewmembers of the Alexandria on the planet. The terrain was like a desert and it looked like they beamed into the middle of a sandstorm. They all wore space suits because the planet was no longer suitable for humanoid life.

Perim held up her tricorder. She then pointed to the left.

"That way." She said.

Allensworth looked in the direction that Perim pointed out and saw the dark silhouette of a building.

"Let's go." He said as they proceeded towards the building.

They approached the building, their walking slowed. To be more specific, they became more cautious. They had their phasers drawn and ready for an encounter with any Imperials. They approached the entry way. Perim and McKenzie stood on either side of the door with Allensworth in front. He nodded to McKenzie who reached over and pulled the door open. Allensworth stood ready, aiming his phaser into the entry way. There was no one there. He nodded again and the three entered the building.

Once inside, Perim held up her tricorder and scanned the area.

"I'm picking up the Counselor's signature. She's a hundred and forty meters down that corridor."

Allensworth raised his phaser and led the way down the corridor. His eyes shifted from side to side, waiting to run into a guard or something.

"Sixty-two meters." Perim reported. "She's in that room directly ahead."

Their pace slightly quickened but was still cautious. They finally reached the door and just like the door that led into the building, their positions were identical. Allensworth nodded and McKenzie opened the door. Allensworth aimed his phaser but once there was no visible danger. He stepped into the room with the two Lieutenants following him. They stood in shock as they saw the condition of Counselor Christine Nycz.

"What the hell?" Allensworth said.

Nycz was hanging from a machine. Her uniform was practically nonexistent. Her boots were gone, sleeves ripped all the way to the shoulder. The midriff ripped open and various tears along the legs. Bruises and cuts covered her body.

"Let's get her down." Allensworth said.

He and Perim unhooked the machines from Nycz's limbs starting with her legs and then getting to her arms. Once they got to her arms a beam rang out and struck the back wall. They all flinched and then looked back. A group of Imperials were in the corridor. McKenzie aimed her phaser rifle and fired at the oncoming soldiers. She took a few of them out with her first initial shots but the others were taking cover.

Allensworth had finally unhooked Christine and draped her over his shoulder.

"We got her. Now let's get out of here." He tapped his comm. badge. "Allensworth to Alexandria, get us out of here."

McKenzie backed up to get closer to the other three. A phaser beam flew through the air and struck the security chief in the leg. She yelped in pain and dropped to the ground. Perim reached over and grabbed her. She pulled McKenzie in close just as the transporter beam whisked them away.

"We've got multiple ships on an intercept course." Trinn said.

The transporter chief's voice came over the intercom on the bridge. "Bridge, the team is safely aboard."

"Activate the ion pulse." Merriell said. "And get us out of here."

The main deflector fired the ion beam. The two ships on the other side picked it up and opened an interspatial anomaly to allow the Alexandria to come through.

The Alexandria emerged from the anomaly.

"Contact, the Rhode Island and the Voyager. Tell them we succeeded." Merriell said.

"Aye, sir." Hoshi responded.

_Captain's Log: Stardate:58115.0. We've returned to our own universe after rescuing Counselor Nycz from the Mirror Universe. Doctor Plumley reports that she'll make a full recovery but I fear that there are some emotional scars that will take a lot more time to heal._

Christine Nycz walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair. She had just gotten out of the sonic shower. She hadn't had a shower for about a month. She was glad to be home but at the same time she was still scarred from what she went through during that month. She lied down on the couch and curled up into a ball. Images from the past month flashed through her head. A tear escaped her eye and she wiped it away. Then more tears began to follow and the next thing she knew she was crying, almost uncontrollably.

She slightly jumped at the sound of her door chime. She quickly wiped away the tears and sat up before telling the person to come in. Commander Zofchak appeared in the doorway.

"Is this a bad time?"

"No, not at all come in."

The chief engineer entered the counselor's quarters. He could tell by the sound of her voice that she wasn't all right.

"It's amazing how you guys figured out that my counterpart had taken my place." Christine said.

"Don't give us too much credit. It took us a month to figure it out and it wasn't until some of us had dreams about your experiences was when we began putting the pieces together. How did you do that, by the way?" Dustin said sitting down next to her.

"I'm not exactly sure. When I was being held captive, the only thing that kept me alive was the memories I had of you guys and how much I wanted to get back here."

"Maybe that's all you needed to do to send out your own natural distress call." Dustin said. "I know it sounds corny but that might've been it. I've read about weirder things happening." Dustin studied the look on Christine's face. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She looked at him and her tears began to return. Without saying a word he put an arm around her and held his friend close. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly just as her tears began to fall once again.

"I just want you to know that I'm here for you, Christine. You and I have known each other for a long time. You can come to me at anytime you need to talk. People come to the ship's counselor about their problems but who does the ship's counselor go to with her problems?"

Commander Merriell and Lieutenant Trinn sat in Ten Forward having a drink together. They sat near the window, across from each other.

"Is it weird to be joined now? Having all of those memories of the previous hosts?" Alex asked.

"It is slightly. There have been instances in this brief time where I thought I was somebody else but then about a second later I realize who I am. I'll get used to it. But I did want to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"There isn't really any easy way to say this. My symbiont doesn't want to be involved in a relationship. It has already been involved a couple times in the past but now it doesn't want to deal with it. Some of the hosts in the pasts have been hurt in their relationships and I can remember how it felt. I know it doesn't make any sense but try to understand."

She placed her hand over his as he nodded.

"I understand." He said sounding a bit down.

"We're still friends, right?"

"Oh, definitely. There's no issues about that."

"Good." At that she got up from the table and patted him on the shoulder leaving Ten Forward. Alex stared at the glass as he rotated it and then glanced up at the stars as he was left to his thoughts.

The End


End file.
